Patriots can't go wrong with any of the top 3 quarterbacks in 2024 Draft

In a month, the New England Patriots will be on the NFL draft clock in their highest position since 1993, when they held the first overall pick. Then, Head Coach and GM Bill Parcells selected Drew Bledsoe, and the Pats began a march toward a Super Bowl appearance.

Now, as in 1993, the Patriots desperately need a quarterback, the most important single position on any NFL team. If you have a great or a really good one, you have a chance. If you don't, you'll be an also-ran. Sports talk banter is all over the debate over whether to keep the pick and select a QB at three or trade down for more picks., select

There are solid arguments on both sides. One scenario would be that one of the top quarterbacks slips and becomes available to the Patriots after a slight trade-down. It's a dream situation, but unfortunately, it isn't likely. Teams that need a quarterback want one of the top three available: Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina, or Jayden Daniels of LSU.

Should one team that is in or trades up to the top four or five have their eyes set on QB No. 4, J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, then the dream could become a reality. Here's a YouTube discussion on McCarthy.

We'll see, and that's why the draft is so mesmerizing. Yet, in the real world, the Pats will most likely have the opportunity to draft one or, at best, two of the top three. The supposition here is they can't go wrong with any of them.

Patriots need a new quarterback and can get one at pick No. three

The temptation for Eliot Wolf of the "Green Bay Packer Way" of draft and develop (not a bad stratagem, by the 'way') will be to aggregate more picks and maybe take a quarterback later. There's a lot to be said for that approach for teams with needs all over their offense, including the second most important position, offensive left tackle.

It's eminently justifiable but not optimum. Would getting Joe Alt or Olu Fashanu, the top two offensive tackles in the draft, be a negative? Certainly not. Yet, the cog around whom the whole wheel of an offense and of a team revolves is still and always will be the quarterback. That's why the choice is to take the best one available at three.

Williams of USC is the ultimate playmaker. His elusiveness, termed here "escapability" in the pocket, is off the charts. He's been looked upon as the top quarterback available and was 2022's Heisman Trophy winner. You can't go wrong there at all, especially with a team whose offensive line needs lots of work.

The QB looked upon by many as the next best option is Drake Maye of UNC. Maye is another bonafide top QB who can do it all. He has all the tools to be an NFL success. He's big at 6'4" tall and 223 pounds, cut from the same physical mold as another pretty good New England quarterback named Tom Brady.

nfl.com has this to say among their comments about Maye,

" ...He can make every throw, but he will try to make throws that he shouldn’t have attempted. The gunslinger mentality creates a fearlessness that can turn into interceptions, but it will also allow him to win in tight windows and make splash throws that get crowds (and evaluators) on their feet..."

He ain't perfect, but who is? Maye, like Williams, is a dual-threat type who can make all the throws and yet keep defenses honest with his running ability. He can tuck the ball under his arm and run when necessary for yardage, not just to escape a rush. Maye gained 449 yards and scored nine TDS on the ground in 2023. That will be a solid improvement on last season's lead-footed variety of New England quarterbacks.

Jayden Daniels may be the Patriots' best option of all

A fast riser, though he had little reason to rise at all, is the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels. Want the whole package from top to bottom? Daniels is it. He's an uber-accurate thrower, completing 72.2% of his passes for 3812 yards and a whopping 40 TDs for the Tigers last year.

In addition, he does something with tremendous ability that no New England quarterback could last season, and that's protect the ball. Along with his 40 TDs he had only four interceptions in 327 attempts. That's what's called ball security, and if you don't have it in abundance at the position, you ain't gonna cut the mustard, and you'll see yourself firmly ensconced in last place, where the Pats landed last season.

In addition to his throwing acumen, Daniels is a real runner, not just a scrambler. He's a runner of running back quality. In 2023, he ran for an impressive 1134 yards, an 8.4-yard average, and added a monstrous ten additional TDs on the ground to his total. That's scoring production the Patriots just did not have the past few years.

There are a lot of reasons why the Pats should draft Daniels and we can add one more to the mix. Daniels is Louis Riddick's (a suggestion here for the Pats GM position), one of the best analysts in the business's first-choice QB in this draft. Here's Louis on Facebook on Jayden Daniels.

Wow. That's good enough for this observer. The choice if he's on the board is Jayden Daniels. But should he be selected in the first two picks, a distinct possibility begging the question, should the Pats trade up to ensure they get him? It's a legitimate consideration for a team with nowhere to go but up.

A team as needy at quarterback as the Patriots (their having signed back-up journeyman QB Jacoby Brissett to a bloated $8M contract notwithstanding, why was that?) should take a QB with the third pick overall, hitch their wagon to one who's available there (hopefully Daniels), and never look back.

Any one of the top three noted would be a great selection. But for the reasons stated, the choice is Daniels if he's available.

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